O Mauritano

After 9/11, the USA caused Mohamedou Ould Slahi to be removed from his homeland and transported to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, where he was kept for 14 years and two months, undergoing extreme forms of interrogation (amounting to torture), then was eventually released, never having been charged with any crime due to lack of firm evidence.

Now read that again:- After 9/11, the USA caused Mohamedou Ould Slahi to be removed from his homeland and transported to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, where he was kept for 14 years and two months, undergoing extreme forms of interrogation (amounting to torture), then was eventually released, never having been charged with any crime due to lack of firm evidence.

How much impression did reading that make on your emotions? I guess not a great deal.

Now go and see this movie to help you imagine what it must have been like. Whether or not it's a true reflection of both sides of opinion, it's a sobering watch. Sometimes, the written word just isn't enough - thank heaven for good movies.

I had modest expectations going into "The Mauritanian," a screen adaptation of the book "Guantanamo Diary," which blew the whistle on the U. S. treatment of prisoners of Guantanamo Bay. Usually, if a movie as Oscar-baity as this one fails to receive a single nomination, it's because it's not very good. So call me pleasantly surprised when I discovered the film to be the exact opposite.

To some, "The Mauritanian" will likely be too heavy handed. It's one of those liberal Hollywood diatribes (and I say this as a self-identified liberal progressive) that can be too much even for those who've already bought what the movie is selling. I might have been turned off if I'd been in a different mood when I watched it. But sometimes, the commitment of the people making the movie can overcome its excess earnestness, and that was the case for me here. Among the usual Liberal Activists = Good, U. S. Government and Military = Bad tropes, the film does try for some nuance in its characters. Jodie Foster gives a sensational performance as the attorney dedicated to freeing the film's protagonist, played in an equally wonderful performance by Tahar Rahim, and we're allowed to see that she's unlikable and conflicted. Likewise, Benedict Cumberbatch, as the prosecuting attorney, is introduced as what we're sure is going to be a macho Southern military goon stereotype, complete with unacceptable accent, but the movie subverts our expectations and shows that he's capable of letting personal and patriotic feelings be outweighed by humanitarian ones. Granted, the film does none of this elegantly or delicately, but I just appreciated a story that at least attempted to populate a liberal/conservative issue movie with characters that are more than easy ciphers. The film could probably be criticized as yet another white savior story, and those criticisms would be justified. But it's a damn good one.

Shailene Woodley rounds out the cast as Foster's assistant, and she's excellent as well. The director is Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland"), who has a knack for making blisteringly entertaining movies out of gruesome true event subject matter.

Grade: A.

A lot of great talent make this a particularly riveting film. No punches are spared when it comes to how incompetent and inhumane Rumsfeld's policies were at Guantanamo. I criticized The Report for being too visceral in trying to make its point. This film had some very disturbing scenes as well but they were much more effective. You actually cared for the characters in the film. The Report and the Mauritanian make the same points, but where the Report was dry with little character development, The Mauritanian tells a fascinating personal tale.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim) gets picked up by the Mauritanian police after 9/11. It's the start of his odyssey to Guantánamo Bay. Three years later, New Mexico defense attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) gets recruited to be his lawyer. She is joined by junior associate Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley). Meanwhile, Marine lawyer Stuart Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch) is recruited to be the prosecutor to give the prisoner a death sentence. He is eager for the job after losing a close friend in one of the planes. Former classmate Neil Buckland (Zachary Levi) is involved with the interrogation.

Director Kevin Macdonald delivers a clear-headed dissection of the case against Mohamedou who is known here as The Mauritanian. The power of this movie comes from a straight forward telling of his story. I am uncertain about portraying the torture but somehow it has to be laid down on film. I would consider a less direct approach to give the audience some space. There are a few lines of dialogue that I wish Nancy would say. The performances are beyond reproach. All in all, this is a powerful truth seeking missile of a film.

... but even then you're still guilty, because somebody has to pay, so it might as well be you! If it wasn't for people like Nancy Hollander we wouldn't have the outstanding Tahar Rahim to thank for portraying, through an award worthy performance, the unbelievable injustices endured by Mohamedou Ould Slahi. Unlocking some of the not so secret secrets behind the incarceration of the innocent, the torture and torment of the unfortunate, the proximity in time and space to a place you probably call home reinforcing the impact of lessons seldom learnt and the overwhelming ignorance of those entrusted to protect us when given carte blanche to do so.